LAS VEGAS, NV?Looking tired and a cheekbone betraying his dried-up physique, Erik Morales came in three hours late and without the mariachi band that waited for his red carpet arrival at the MGM Grand Tuesday here.
Clad in a blue sports jacket and black pants, Morales was welcomed by Top Rank officials and a handful of fans, much lesser than the number of those who welcomed Pacquiao Monday here, including those who drove with him from Los Angeles.
Team Pacquiao members from Manila led by Rodolfo Nazario and his sons waited for more than an hour to get a glimpse of Morales but like the mariachi band that also braved the cold weather outside, they were no longer around when Morales and his official entourage checked in without fanfare.
?This is going to be a tough and difficult fight,? said the 5?8 Morales, who is reported to fight in his last super-featherweight match, as he apparently had some problems maintaining the 130-pound limit.
?He?s gonna come out fighting because he?s got a lot of balls and a lot of heart,? said Fernando Beltran, manager of the 28-year-old Morales, the last of the ?Three Musketeers,? the three future Hall of Fame fighters from Mexico.
Morales, on board a private jet, touched down in the border city of Nogales, Arizona and flew directly to Las Vegas, completing a long and tiring journey, which may also explain his frail look.
Morales and Manny Pacquiao, both protagonists of ?Coming With Everything? or ?Con Todo? in Spanish marketing schemes which topbills the March 19 megafight, will meet for the third time Wednesday morning to face an enthusiastic media at Studio A of the hotel, described by BZA Credentials coordinator Amy Zophi as ?huge.?
Pacquiao, the People?s Champion of the featherweight division recognized by the prestigious Ring Magazine, will be going up in weight to face the former three-time, three-division champion in a non-title fight at the 14,000-seat MGM Grand Garden Arena, which is about to get sold-out.
Despite being a non-title fight, Zophi described the Pacquiao-Morales superbout as one of the most awaited fights in years, and in terms of media response, is comparable to some of the marquee fights of Oscar De La Hoya.
On Tuesday, Pacquiao started his day with a morning jog at the UNLV campus track. He also did four rounds with the punch mitts and his regular conditioning routine under the watchful eye of trainer Freddie Roach, Buboy Fernandez and Justin Fortune.
With four days left, Pacquiao has been trying to eat as much as possible while burning excess poundage in training. He weighed at an unofficial 131 pounds, according to Roach, prior to training.
Showing solidarity and team spirit, Pacquiao and his supporters offered intentions to the poor, and success for his upcoming fight as they prayed the rosary inside his suite. Praying together with Pacquiao included wife Jinkee, General Santos mayor Pedro Acharon, supporter Rey Golingan, Catholic manager Keith Davidson, husband and wife Clement and Yvonne Asencio, Joseph Ramos, Edward Lura, Glen Israel, Joseph Jose, Buboy Fernandez, Gerry Balagbagan, Bernie Torres and this writer.
